By: Coats & Clark Design Team
SewingDecorative coastal themed throw pillows are the perfect accent for any beach house, sofa, or bed in any room. Reflect your personal style and wonders of the sea with these appliquéd designs.
Pillows designed by Karen Schaphorst
Sand Dollar Pillow
Finished Size
18” x 18” (46cm x 46cm)
Supplies
Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP all-purpose thread, 8010 natural, 1500 Orange coral
Fabric Requirements*
¾ yd (.69m), Coral Sateen, front & back
15”(38cm) square Cream Sateen, applique
Additional Requirements
½ yd (.46m) Paper backed fusible web
Tear-away fabric stabilizer
18”(46cm) pillow insert
Sewing machine
Basic sewing supplies
Iron, ironing board
*We used FreeSpirit Designer Essential Sateen.
Cutting Requirements
- For sand dollar pattern, use on-line clip art and size it up to 15”(38cm) to fit pillow front. Here is a link to one design: Sand Dollar Clip Art
Trace image with a pencil directly onto paper-backed fusible web.
Fuse to wrong side of fabric with a dry iron following manufacturer’s instructions. Cut design from fabric.
Cut two 19”(48.25cm) squares for pillow front and back
Sewing Directions
Note: Seam allowances are ½”(1.3cm)
- Appliqué Sand Dollar
Remove paper backing from design. Place sand dollar onto right side of pillow front centering the design. Fuse in place following manufacturer’s instructions.
To appliqué, it is a good idea to do a test piece before stitching onto pillow. Determine stitch length and width. We used 1.5mm length and .6mm width. Before stitching, place tear-away stabilizer underneath pillow front fabric.
The length and width of your stitches is totally a personal preference. We used stitches about 1/16″ wide and .6mm long.
Sew around the outline of your design, covering all of the cut edges. Do not back stitch at the end. Tie off the threads at your ending point by pulling threads to the back. Do this by threading a needle and pulling them through.
When appliquéing a corner, sew to the end, leave the needle in the project, and turn the pillow front. Sew over my last stitch or two for a neat finish.
When sewing curves, it’s best to keep the image straight in the presser foot to avoid slanted stitches. Raise the foot, with the needle in the down position shift fabric and stitch a few stitches. Keep lifting and turning as you sew around the curves.
- Pillow front and back
Pin pillow back to pillow front, right side together. Stitch, leaving an opening large enough for turning and inserting the pillow form. Trim across corners.
Turn pillow right side out. Insert pillow form. Slip-stitch opening closed.
- Topstitich close to outer edges of pillow and again ¼”(.6cm) from the first stitching
DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS SAND DOLLAR PILLOW
Starfish Pillow
Finished Size
18” x 18”
Supplies:
Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP all-purpose thread - to match fabrics, 4480 Caspian Sea, 5520 Aqueous, 5550 Mist Aqua
Fabric*:
1/8 yd. (.16m) Bay Blue Sateen
1/8 yd. (.16m) Peacock Sateen
½ yd. (.46m) Cobalt Sateen (includes welting)
¾ yd (.69m) Cream Sateen (front & back)
Additional Requirements
1 yd. (.9m) Paper backed fusible web
Tear-away fabric stabilizer
80”(203cm) of ¼” (.6cm) filler cord
18” (46cm) pillow insert
Sewing machine
Basic sewing supplies
Iron, ironing board
*We used FreeSpirit Designer Essentials Sateens.
Cutting Requirements
- For starfish pattern, use on-line clip art and size it up or down to create various sizes for your appliqué. We used five fish sizes ranging from 4” to 7”(10cm to 18cm).
Seashell and Starfish Pattern Printable here.
Using the starfish patterns, trace images directly on to paper-backed fusible web with a pencil.
Fuse onto wrong side of fabric using a dry iron and following manufacturer’s directions. Cut out each starfish design from fabric.
- Cut two 19”(48.25cm) for front and back.
Sewing Directions
Note: Seam allowances are ½”(1.3cm)
- To appliqué starfish, place starfish onto right side of pillow front arranging as desired making sure to leave 1” (2.5cm) border around the edges. Remove paper backing and fuse in place.
Before appliquéing, it is a good idea to do a test piece before stitching onto pillow. Determine the length and width of your stitches. We used a stitch width of 1.5mm and length .6mm.
Before stitching place tear-away stabilizer underneath design. Sew around the outline of the design, covering all cut edges. Do not back stitch at beginning or end. Tie off at ending point by pulling threads to the back. You can do this by threading a needle and pulling them through.
Tips:
- When appliquéing a corner, sew to the end, leave the needle in the project, and turn fabric. Sew over last stitch or two for a neat finish.
- When sewing curves, it’s best to keep the image straight in the presser foot to avoid slanted stitches. Raise the foot, with the needle in the down position shift fabric and stitch a few stitches. Keep lifting and turning as you sew around the curves.
When stitching is completed, remove tear-away stabilizer and press appliqué.
- To make and apply welting, cut 80” (203cm) of 2” (5.1cm) bias strips from welting fabric as shown below.
Sew the 2” (5.1cm) strips into one long strip. Fold the fabric strip around the filler cord, wrong sides together, matching cut edges.
Using a zipper foot, stitch as close to the cording as possible. It is important to keep the raw edges of the fabrics together as you sew. This will enclose the cord in the fabric.
Pin the welting to pillow front matching the cut edges. Clip welting to ease around the corners. Using a zipper foot, stitch welting to pillow over previous stitching beginning 2” from the welting end. Stop stitching 2” from where the ends will meet. Open out stitching on welt and cut off the filler cord so it lines up with the beginning of the welting.
Fold under the end of the welting fabric and wrap it around the beginning. Finish stitching welting to pillow front.
- To make pillow, with right side together, pin front to back. Stitch leaving an opening large enough for turning and inserting the pillow form. Trim across corners.
Turn pillow right side out. Insert pillow form. Slip-stitch opening closed.
